Automatic signal system.



S. H. HARRINGTON. AUTOMATIC SIGNAL SYSTEM APPLICATION FILED APR.10,1909.

Patented Nov. 28, 1911.

j'EHEETS-SHEET 1.

ATTOR/VEVS S. H. HARRINGTON. AUTOMATIC SIGNAL SYSTEM.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 10, 1909v :(MWQQ $3 1M? Patented Nov. 28, 1911.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 2 wdigww.

ATTORNEYS S. H. HARRINGTON. AUTOMATIC SIGNAL SYSTEM.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 10, 1909,

Patented Nov. 28, 1911.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

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ma I w ATTORNEYS S. H. HARRINGTON.

AUTOMATIC SIGNAL SYSTEM.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 10, 1909.

Patented Nov. 28, 1911.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

IIVVENTOH ATTORNEYS S. H. HARRINGTON,

AUTOMATIC SIGNAL SYSTEM.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 10, 1909.

L M T 11E 11E 00 2 V. m E N H d 85 b n w a P ATTOR/VE VS ATES rerun l H. HARRINGTON, 0% NEW YOlEtIK N.

AWGMATIG SIG-NA]; SYSTEM.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application nee April 10, 190B.

Patented Wow. 23%, .itttllili Serial No. aaaeao.

"To all whom may concern;

Be it known that l, {senior-n H. HARM-no .TON', a citizen ot'the United States, residing at New York, in the county of New Yorl and State of New Yorlc have invented cer- -tain new; and useful improvements, in "Automatic Signal Systems, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, such as-will enable others skilled in the art to which it'appertains to make and use the same.v This invention relates to an improvement in railway safety devices, and more especially to devices of this character in which a member adjacent the track is utilized to slow down or stop a train.

One of the objects is to provide a practical device of this character which is posi-- tive and reliable in its action.

Another object is to provide means, operating simultaneously with the application of the brakes, for notifying the engineer that he is about to pass a (hanger signal.

Another object is to provide a device which is non-complicated and which is so constructed that the parts thereof will not be affected by the weather conditions.

Another object is to. provide means for absorbing the shock between thebralcecontrolling mechanism and the track member.

Another object is to provide a device which is cheap and durable. and. the parts of which may be readily adjusted in order that it may be used under varying condi tions of track and rolling stock.

@ther'objec'ts will be in part obvious and iripartpointed out hereinafter.

he invention accordingly consists in the ieatures of construction; combinations of elements and arrangement of parts which will be exemplified in the construction here flinafter set forth, andthe scope of the application of which will be indicated in the following claims. A

Y vehicle; Fig. 2

in. the accompanying drawings, wherein is a plan View of the brake-controlling mechanism carried by tliie moving vehicle,

parts being broken away for the sake of clearness; Fig. 5 is an elevational riew of the mechanism looking roin the l Fig. 4; parts being broken away 1: r clean nessyl ig. 6 is an elevational view oi? the mechanism looking from the left. of Fig. 5; the casing beingshown in. section; Fig. 7 is a detail, sectional view of the valve and its actuating leverg'liig. 8 is an enlarged detail view of the cam lever; Fig. 9 is a view siinilar to F 5, showing the parts in. their alternate positions; liig'. it: is a view talten from the right oi? Fig. 9; l 11 is view of the track member showing the pi ion assumed by the suspended track ni....nber

whenstruck bythe arm carried by the re hicle; Fig. 12 is a diagrammatic view showing the relative position of the device with respect to a signal.

Similar reference characters refer to shut s lar parts throughout the several views.

Referring now to Figs. 1, 2 and 2 it indi cates asnpport or post of any suitable u struction upon which the rotatable arm i. mounted. In the en'ibodiment shouin the so arm is pivoted to one end of a plate 3 having' a slot 4 formed thereinwith which a gages. The other end of the p a u I erably provided with threaded i)ro1ection 6 with which a turn' ouchl e. this turnbuckle also engzwingg with H projection 8 provided at end of a 9 which is lined upon the pport 1. be understood that by'loosening the means 5 and rotating the turn-buclne '2' the plate may be raised or lowered to or n t the position of the arm it relatively 7 in track. 15in adjustable counterweight is associated with the arm 2 and is so 5 mor '95 tinned as regards its weight that it will be overbalanced by the arm 2 which will. therefore, assu no its lowermost or operative nose tion in the event of any of the conne" one between it and the signalbecoming b Suitable Flexible means such a; and 12 extend between. the supportai l the arm/tor limiting its movement in botl .71 rections.

Rotatably included upon ll? 1 arm adj ice cent its outer en. end of a d is pivoted. the has a chain secured tn connected to the free end. oi: this chain. in 11csleeve 13 to whi ch one arm 1% and tend to maintain the suspension square form of'the links of the chain device in its normal position when the arm 2 is lowered. Inorder to prevent lateral movement of the suspension'member while rotating on being struck by the train memher, a disk 20 is secured to the arm 2,'with one face of which disk the spring 19" is adapted to contact during its rotating movement. The disk is provided with a slot with which the spring 19 registers when the suspension member is in its normal'position, in order that, when the arm 2 is raised, the suspension member may assume the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1 Secured to the outer end of the arm 2 is a bracket 21 within which a stop 22 preferably formed of rubber, is secured, this stop serving to prevent excessive movement of'the suspension device away from the post. Pivotally mounted upon the arm 2 as at 23, and engaging the opposite side of the suspension de vice is a pendulum 24 the'eifective length of which is. preferably less than the length of the. suspension device, thus assuring that the pendulum. will have a diflerent natural period of vibration than the suspension device has.- If the suspension device tends to,

swing toward the pole, it will start the pendulum vibrating, which, on account of its shorter rate of vibration as compared to the former, will tend to prevent excessive-swinging movement thereof. The tendency of the weight 16 to swing relatively to the arm l4 is reduced to a minimum on account of the and the tubular sections covering the same. It will be seen that any appreciable lateral move ment ofthe suspension device or of the weight, with respect to the track is prohibited, thus insuring that when the arm is in its danger position the weight will be held in the path of the actuating device carried by the vehicle.

Referring now to-Fig. 12 of the drawing the device is shown as being positioned in advance of the signal 25 which, in this in stance, represented as a semaphore, although it will of course be understood that any other signaling means may be utilized. Suitable connections 26 and 27 extend'from the semaphore to'the arm 2 which are so arranged and connected thatwhen the seinephore is at its safety position the arm 2 will be raised to carry the weight 16 out of the path of the trains,.as indicated in dotted within which a shaft is journaled.

lines,'while if the semaphore is moved to danger position the arm 2 will be moved to its lowered position thereby pos ioning the weight 16 in the path of the trai's, as indicated in solid lines. When the w. ght 1t; is

in its lowermost or operative posrion, it is adapted to be struck by an arm mounted upon a vehicle traveling upon the track, being preferably mounted upon the locomotive, as indicated in Fig. 1, and the arm and weight 16 are so adjustedrelatively to each other that the former will strike the latter at its center of percussion with regards to its point of pivotal. connection with the 1 chain 15.

Referring now to Figs. etc 10, inclusive. 28 indicates a suitable base or plate preferably mounted upon the roof of the locomotive cab and provided with a bearing 29 A suitable clamp 31 is secured to the upper end of the shaft within which the bar 32 is adapted to be clamped, which bar is provided with outwardly extending arms out of alinement therewith. In the embodiment shown, the bar and the arms are integral. being constructed from a tubular member having its endportion bent to form the offset arms, the outer ends being preferably closed by suitable caps 34. By means of this construction, it will be apparent that by loosening the clamp 31 the bar 32 may be rotated about its longitudinal axis to raise or lower the arms 33,, if necessary, in order that thev will be in such a position as to contactwith the center of percussion of the weight 16.

In order to prevent excessive rotary movement of the bar 32 when the arms 33 are struck by the weight 16, curved cams 35 are. supported upon the base 28 with which the cam engaging members 36, movable with the shaft 30, are adapted to engage when the bar rotates. These cams are so formed and positioned that the shaft 30 will be raised as the bar isrota-ted which movement of the shaft is opposed by a spring 37 engaging the bear ing 29 and a collar 38 secured to the shaft. This device operates as a shock-absorber and tends to gradually retard therotary movement of the bar on account of the fact that the upward movement ofthe shaft will be opposedby a constantly increasing resist-- ance.

A suitable handle is secured to the shaft and is located within the cab by means of which the engineer-"may return the parts to their normal position. In the present instance this handle is shown as consisting of a pipe 39 secured to andextending downwardly from the shaft 30 and having a cross-piece 40 secured thereto. adapted to be grasped by the hand and by means of which the shaft 30 and bar'3 2 maybe rotated; Depending below the cross-piece 40 is 'a projection 41, provided preferably with a illi Ell.

ether hand if l'he eys'leiu is ve y lfiE'W ewe. one 01' mor 1 i 1' veil 1i lelll L l3! rounded lerminel porliou 2 eduplel to engage the canvas; Whieh is all times stretched bet-Ween the loeemetive and the lender and prevent lhe same from eehleeliug with lhe cross-piece ll} and so interfering "with the rete'lzioh of the shell;

A lever l3 preferably piveled le the base is provided with a eem' sue gaging" the rotatable bar 353, hem its normally lowered er ijiie jserel' llieeelgy and being l ugxvma of 3;) Hi5, the lllllillll'lehl e being" lie led as by means: elf gaging e slot formeel lll lih :e eiui 'lhe reoli The eeu'i surlfi ee of the lever is 5;: sliepeolthan upeu m be? being eeluieal from iie nei'iual posilien, in which. pesil'iou, it engages a .i'eeese all? 'fmrmeel in line lever and the lever being fox-c eel upwi-ird' by illfi spring 4.15, the emu suileee will leiul in; e eisl in 'lhe Tl'tfi'lll'lfii .lflliiliilflll. of the heir.

.lpei'elively ueseeiel a with the lever as by engaging e recess 42-9 iu ilzs free end, is ill-e we we eclueting lever pivolelly meunletl edjeemil; the valve which lever moves between suitable guides 50' and has :1 relief 51 piveliilly mouthled'lihereon :ielepleul lo eugg'age lhe' outwe d lhe valve elem 532?? 'lh: valve 3;?) is iierumlly maintained en ilis sea i'vi'lhih 1e elmmhe ill by means of q spring; 553 exlieiieliiw between its upper eui-faeeeiul the i'eiiievzilile (:e 56. file the valve lever is ilfitlliilifill the roller e11- r y presenting flesh suel'm. in com lee Willi llie elem zine l'llnlllili' g the i The Vfll'll eliamhei' 'lhe out I eon'nuunieulze w 1 an a in the present insl'unee, re

Whistle. (lpeningss (3-0 are fl "l'llii(,l inlex mediele ihe almfm enzl the valve wllhii'i which openings eeligl 0x: hollow iiieniliers (ll 01' 62 emf fibe iuseillwl', these llltllllyii'ti m the We. The

in regulate present instance hei .iowu as purpeeeef this G031fl1l!tfl-l03 i1 the amount of air which is perm 'lleil lo elmv ifihfeugh the alarm. 01' example the air elf eoii'uiuiti'li ely higjah l by ill! on the please; 2 opeiiiiw l0 lilie Selle sei'l'swe l5] i0 pass liln'ougli the allure L i the llllfilllll u re pi-elect 'llie lo ieceive the limit 5211116, as imliee ii gm:

meiuhee with which it relates and is further.

uh elm-s 6F ltlnnge adepled 32 euilehle rubber washers (3? being mounted upon lhe lieu adjacent the slots to prevent foreign matter passing lhei'e'ihi'eugh. 'lhehellt preferablyprovicleil with en upslaiu'liug lug lill'luiving an opening; 69 formed therein illlzllTfll lSi'El with a similar epening formed in :1 lug *i'l secured in the cover, through which opeh ings any leelitiug means, such as 2L {'lfidlOCli Til may? lie PilSSQ'Ll lo prevent uuzuithe'rizecl persons from removing the casing l hen it is desired to lime access lo the parts for any purpose it is merely iiecessery lio unlock the padlock, and rei'ueve 'lhe belt ziflei which the cover portion um he lillecl elf.

The OPEI'ZLllOll of the device which should be largely, obvious from the above (lescrii r lieu as follows: The EllSPBIlSlUXlllQVlCk) and lthe arms are so zu'ljusl'ecl relatively to ezuzh other that the llllll will he in u posi; lien in conleel "with the weight 16 at ils (enler of pereueeiou when in ill; operulive po ilion (l5 heieiuliefore (leee'iilml Tlhis mljuslmenl; may he miule li y raising; e1 l()\"\0ling the {ii-m ii jaou which lhe sin: lLllL-illlil ile- "vie-e mounted as above (leeeiilieil or by mljusliiug lthe meiiioii of the arms 33 ('uri-iecl prov iileil W:

by llie loeeinolii'e or if illelllfll by adjusting both of llieee members. if, now when llie arm 9 in ils' lowermost or eperalixe )oeilien the engineer, either l'llllil'lQIll carelessness Ol. Through iluilui'e for em reason lo observe the danger e1 mil, attempts to puss lhe seine, one of The an is 33 upon ihe lol-omolive will sliike the weight; 16 ms :1 resull ol' which the urn; will be rolul'elh lhue releasing the lever l3; uml peru'xilliiig the w ring lfi lo 'uise the leil in l ig'. 9. to actuate the 'tllVQ lever 50 i'liemhy raising the valve .33 from its seal. The result of this will be to LBlQfiHQ lhe nil" williin the 11l'l-l)1;llilll ;f sys leni, lliue applying; l'he hi-ukesyunil simul l'zuieously 'l'heieuilh llie Ill! so lGllNlSOll will pass llureug h the alarm, thus giving an nu" (lible signal to the engineer illnl u ilzuigei' signal is about to he pllSSGllll'hen the trawl: is clean :ll'lll th signal iiulieules that the ehgiuei-tr f0 proceed, ii is uieve i nee-- a 11' f0" him. l0 grasp the l'l' lsy fllll fie l0 and relate 'llie i- 1 toeause llie arms 33 in :is-rsuuue iliei ieirn'uil posil'ioiuo (his MOVE ht e1 l'he he cumin j the level" l3 l0 lie lhe valve lever 50 53 to a ain be 54 through the the objects above enumerated as well as others are obtained. The parts are simple in construction and access to the mechanism upon the moving vehicle may easily be had in case any repairs or renewals. are to "be made. The device is positive in its action and reliable, as it has no delicate parts which are apt to get out of order. In prac- I,

tice'the support for the suspension device is preferably placed about a thousand feet" in advance of its associated signal, as it has been found out that trains running at a high rate of speed may be stopped within this distance by aniapplication of the brakes.

Owing to the peculiar construction of the parts and the relation of the arm 2 with respect'to the weight 16, trains running at any speed may. be. checked without an undue shock to. the brake-controlling mechanism, the advantages of which feature will be apparent.

As many changes could be made in the above construction and many apparently Widely difl erent embodiments of this invention could be made without departing from the scopethereof, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying .drawings shall be'interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

Inasmuch as certain features herein dis closed have been held to constitute independ-' ent inventions, I- reserve the right to deal with the same in divisionalapplications.

Having described my invention, what I claim as'ne'w and desire to secureby Letters Patent 1s:

-1. In a device of the class described,

combination, a support, a plate secured thereto, a secondv plate .movably secured thereto, a rotatable arm carried by said second plate, a suspension device carried by saidarm, and means extending between said platesfpr adjusting the position of said secondplate relatively to said first plate.

2. Ina device of the class described, in'

combination, a support, a plate secured thereto, a second plate havmg a slot formed 'therein, means secured to said support and said arm, and a turn-buckle extending between said plates for adjusting the position riedthereby, and stops for preventing lateral swinging movement of said device, one

'of said stops being movable with respect to said arm.

5. In a device of the class described, in combination, a support, an arm movably mounted thereon, a suspension device carried thereby and having a certain natural period of vibration, and a swinging stop carried by said arm and coacting with said suspension device, said stop having a dinerentnatural period of vibration from the of the suspension device;

6. In a device of the class described, in combination, a support, an arm 'movably mounted thereon a suspension device car-.

ried-thereon and having a certain natural period of vibration, and a swinging stop pivoted to said arm and co-acting withsaid suspension device, said stop having a different' natural period of vibration from that of said suspension device.

7. In a device of the class described, in combination, a support, an arm movably mounted thereon, a suspension device carried thereby, and a swinging stop carried by said arm and co-acting with said, sus pension'device, said suspension device and said stop being of diiterent lengths where by their natural periods of vibration are different.

8. In a device of the class described, in combination, a support, an arm movably mounted thereon, a suspension device carried thereby, a swinging stop carried by said arm and co-acting with said. suspension device, the length of said stop being less than the length of said suspension device whereby it will have a differentnatural period of vibration.

9-. In apparatus of the class described, in combination, a vehicle, brake-controlling means upon said vehicle, means suspended in the path of said brake-controlling means adapted to engage and operatethe same,

neonate a said flexible member in the path of said brake-controlling means and adapted yieldingly to engage and operate the same.

11. in apparatus oi the class described,

in combination, a vehicle, brake-controllingmeans upon said vehicle, a chain suspended adjacent the path of said brake-controlling means and having its links formed to permit swinging in the direction of the path of travel of said vehicle and impede swinging in a direction across said path, and a weight suspended'on said chain in the path of said brake controlling means and adapted to engage and operate the same. i

' 12. In apparatus otthe class described, in combination, a vehicle, yielding brakecontrolling means upon" said vehicle, a swinging member suspended in the path of travel of said brake-controlling means and adapted to engage and operate the same, said swinging member being formed and mounted so as to place its center of percussion substantially at the point of engagement.

13. In apparatus of the class described, in combination, a locomotive, a swmging lever mounted upon the upper portion of to permit actuation of said lever from its normal position and then yleldingly opposeto oppose movement of said swinging memher from its normal position first with a certain force, then with less, and then with greater force to prevent excessive swinging.

15. In apparatus of the class described,

incombination, a vehicle, brake-controlling means upon said vehicle comprising a swinging member, yielding means suspended in the'path of said member adapted to engage the same and swing the same by its inertia to cause the actuation of the brakes of said vehicle, and a casing inclosing a portion of said brake-controlling means, one portion of. which is secured. to said swinging member to move therewith, and

the other portion of which casing is secured to said vehicle.

In testimony whereof I aihx my signature, 1n the presence of two witnesses.

sannnn n. HARRINGTON.

Witnesses PAUL, A. BLAIR, H. M. SEAMANS. 

